National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea Is Set For May 22

May 9, 2013

WASHINGTON—The
National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea will
be celebrated May 22. The day is observed in conjunction with National Maritime
Day in the United States, which has been celebrated since 1933 to recognize
merchant mariners and others in the maritime industry.

Bishop J. Kevin Boland, retired bishop
of Savannah, Georgia and Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) promoter, encourages
dioceses to mark the national day by remembering the men and women of the sea
in homilies and by including special petitions during Mass. For Masses celebrated
on May 22, the text for the Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the
Sea, is encouraged.

"Mariners serve the needs of human
kind in quiet and unobtrusive ways. These hardworking men and women contribute
to global economic vitality. The nature of the industry requires their absence
from home and family for many months without a break. Their labor and sacrifice
make possible our access to the goods of the world," Bishop Boland said.

Bishop Boland will celebrate a Mass
in observance of Maritime Day on Saturday, May 18, at 12:10 p.m., in the Crypt
Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in
Washington. The Mass is sponsored by the AOS national office and the Secretariat
of Cultural Diversity in the Church of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
(USCCB).

Ninety percent of the world's goods
are transported by sea and the waterways. There are approximately 1.2 million
seafarers worldwide in 10,000 commercial ships and maritime vessels.

AOS is a worldwide Catholic maritime
ministry that offers spiritual and practical assistance to seafarers,
fishermen, their families and all those who work and travel by sea and the
waterways. In the United States, AOS chaplains, associates and volunteers carry
on this ministry in maritime ports in 50 dioceses.

The USCCB established the National
Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea in 2005 to
encourage Catholics to support and pray for merchant mariners, seafarers,
fishermen, port personnel and others in the maritime industry.

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Keywords: National Day of Prayer, mariners,
people of the sea, seafarers, fishermen, maritime industry, maritime ports,
maritime ministry, merchant marine, Bishop J. Kevin Boland, USCCBSecretariat of
Cultural Diversity in the Church, Apostleship of the Sea, AOS, Pontifical
Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

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